July US Inflation Eases, But Core Prices Rise

US inflation eased in July, but core prices rose as household spending stalled. The Joint Economic Committee's monthly expenditure update showed that the headline personal consumption expenditures price index increased by 0.16 per cent between June and July.

The underlying measure, however, moved in the opposite direction, with core PCE inflation rising by 0.25 per cent in July, up from 0.13 per cent in June.

This mixed picture for the US economy presents a concern as overall monthly inflation moderated, but underlying price pressures accelerated and remained above the Federal Reserve's longer-term goal of 2 per cent.